Oursler was unstoppable in the paint for the Bulls as she finished the game with a career-high 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in only 20 minutes of action. UB has now started the last two seasons 5-0, marking the first time in program history they have had consecutive 5-0 starts to a season.
The turning point of the game for the Bulls was their strong effort in the first half as they netted a season-high 47 points on 18-for-37 from the floor (48.6%). UB finished off the first quarter with their highest scoring output of the season as they held the 26-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Sacred Heart grabbed the early 5-2 lead before the Bulls were able to go on a 10-0 run to take the 12-5 edge as JoAnna Smith hit a jumper and then back-to-back three pointers before Mariah Suchan closed out the run with a layup in traffic. After the Pioneers cut the UB lead to three, 12-9, the Bulls closed the first quarter out on a 14-1 run as Cassie Oursler scored six points and Stephanie Reid was able to sink four quick points giving UB the 26-10 edge after the first quarter.
UB continued to extend their lead in the second quarter as Oursler scored the first four points of the quarter before Ayoleka Sodade joined the party with a nice layup after a feed from Liisa Ups. Lawrencia Moten entered the game and scored three straight points for UB before Katherine Ups and Brittany Morrison netted back-to-back layups to give the Bulls their biggest lead of the half, 26. The Pioneers hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the teams to the locker room with the Bulls holding their biggest halftime lead of the season, 47-23.
The Pioneers were able to outscore the Bulls by five points in the third quarter as they drew within 19, 59-40, after 30 minutes of action. Oursler led the Bulls in the third quarter with six points while Smith drilled her third three-pointer of the game, helping her surpass the 900-career point plateau.
The Buffalo offense got back on track in the fourth quarter as they extended their lead out to 28, 68-40, as they opened the quarter on a 9-0 run. Summer Hemphill started the scoring with a three-point play after a nice move down low before making another layup off of a great feed from Oursler. Theresa Onwuka then got on the scoresheet with a fancy layup in the lane before Reid earned a steal and fast break layup to force a Sacred Heart timeout. Courtney Wilkins was able to drill a deep three with just over three minutes remaining to extend the UB lead to 73-46 but the Pioneers outscored the Bulls 9-3 down the stretch as UB cruised to a 76-55 win.
Buffalo was led offensively by Oursler who netted a career-high 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks while going 7-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Smith finished off her afternoon with 11 points and six rebounds on 4-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-8 from behind the arc as she has now netted at least one three-pointer in 40 of her last 41 games and at least three triples in 24 of her last 41 games. With her final three-pointer of the afternoon, Smith surpassed 900 career points for the Bulls while also moving into sixth place in program history in three-pointers made in a career (131).
Reid had her second straight strong game at the point as she finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals while Brittany Morrison came off the bench and scored a season-high eight points while grabbing seven rebounds across 15 minutes of work. Moten came off the bench and was a presence down low for the Bulls as she finished off her afternoon with five points, four rebounds and a career-best three blocks in only nine minutes of action.
For the game, Buffalo completely dominated the glass as they grabbed a season-high 57 rebounds including 21 offensive boards that they turned into a season-best 22 second chance points. The Bulls bench continued to produce as they outscored the Pioneers bench 30-15 while all 13 players grabbed at least one rebound and 11 players scored at least three points. UB also produced a season-best 48 points in the paint in their fifth straight win.
The Bulls will return to Alumni Arena on Thursday night as they welcome the Central Florida Golden Knights to Buffalo. Tip is set for 7:00 pm on Thursday and will air live on ESPN 3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
